Homes burned, cemetery flooded: 67 years later, First Nation wins redress
Sixty-seven years after an industrial project flooded out a B.C. First Nation, the B.C. government is providing "redress and restitution."
In so doing, it says it's addressing an "historic wrong."
In 1952, members of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation were forced from their homes with two weeks notice to make way for hydroelectric dams and a reservoir to power Alcan's new aluminum smelter in Kitimat.
The Cheslatta were forcibly relocated to land outside their traditional territories in central B.C.., according to the B.C. government.
'Their homes had all been burnt'
People "packed up what they could and left," said Cheslatta Chief Corrina Leween, whose mother and grandmother were among those forced out
"When they went back to the reserve, their homes had all been burnt down. The only thing left was the Catholic Church the Cheslatta had built and that was eventually burned as well."
Then the flood waters rose, submerging the village, destroying 60 graves and unearthing ancestral remains.
After the flooding, ancestral remains float in the reservoir
"That still occurs to this day," said Leween. "We still find bones along the lake. We collect them and bring them back to our community."
High waters in 2017 and 2015 further disturbed human remains.
In 2015, Mike Robertson, Cheslatta's senior policy adviser, told CBC it was a haunting situation.
"There's the cost of ... finding the leg of your grandmother or your uncle or your cousin. These aren't ancient graves. These are graves as late as 1952," Robertson said. "People are still alive that are directly related "
Leween said these historic injustices affect band members to this day.
'They still live with it'
"The younger ones, they didn't walk out, but they still live with it, the intergenerational impacts," said Leween."We are resilient, but there have been adverse impacts from the flooding and relocation. There has been poverty, a high death rate, alcoholism, addiction and violence."
Leween said signing the agreement with the province gave her hope.
"There was pride, tears, happiness," she said. "The devastation experienced by the Cheslatta people 67 years ago continues to this day," said Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Scott Fraser. "Reconciliation demands we reckon with the truth of our shared history ..."
The Cheslatta has unanimously agreed to the restitution agreement. But most of the specific terms will remain confidential for a year "pending negotiation with other parties."
The agreement does include $4 million over a decade for environmental restoration, as well as land transfers and support for cultural and language programs.
"We're in an era right now where we can actually take and make a success of a tragedy," said Leween. "This will allow us to do that, to rebuild our community."
